There is a history book players can find in Skyrim that appears to have traveled back in time to the age of Morrowind. While it might seem, at first glance, that this could be explained by the copy in Skyrim just being an ancient book, the tome is unique in a way that might not be obvious to most players: Its contents don't seem to make sense for it to have been written before the events of Morrowind.
Many books appear in more than one Elder Scrolls game; however, these tend to be older copies of previously seen books. For example, the history books written by Carlovac Townway chronicling the events of the year 2920 over 27 volumes appear in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. However, the contents of these Elder Scrolls lore books fit for when they were supposed to have been written (the last year of the First Era), and their first appearance in Morrowind, which takes place in the Third Era, which consequently raises no questions.
What makes this book so strange is its contents coupled with its appearance in all three games. The book makes reference to events that had not yet taken place at the time of Morrowind, something that clever fans have made a note of. So is it possible that this innocent-looking history book has traveled through time?
The Mysterious Time-Traveling Book Of Skyrim & Morrowind
The history book in question is The Dragon Break Reexamined by Fal Droon, and this book appears in three Elder Scrolls games: Skyrim, Oblivion, and Morrowind. The book talks about the concept of a Dragon Break and discusses another book, Encyclopedia Tamrielica, and how it might have gotten some dates wrong when writing about the Alessians. Overall his book is a rather dry read, masking what makes it most interesting.
As The Dragon Break Reexamined first appears in Morrowind, it is not unreasonable to assume it was written prior to the events of that game. However, the book makes reference to the "late Third Era," and as Morrowind takes place in the Third Era, there is no way any author writing at the time could have known how long the Era was going to last. The author goes on to mention the fall of the Elder Scrolls' Septim Dynasty, which occurs during the events of Oblivion, the game appearing between Morrowind and Skyrim.
These anomalies the theory that the book itself has been affected by its very topic: a Dragon Break. A Dragon Break is named after Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time in the Elder Scrolls universe. A Dragon Break is a temporal phenomenon where timelines split, resulting in branching alternative realities. The Dragon Break then corrects itself and reconnects all the different branches to the main timeline, and in doing so makes all possibilities and conclusions of those parallel realities the truth, no matter how contradictory.
In Oblivion, The Dragon Break Reexamined is found on the second floor of Dovyn Aren's house in the Elven Gardens District of the Imperial City. Players can find the book on a shelf on a table opposite and to the right of the bed. Meanwhile, the Skyrim copies of The Dragon Break Reexamined are located in High Hrothgar in the living area as well as on the nightstand in Esbern's room in Riften's Ratway Warrens. The Dragon Break Reexamined can be found in Morrowind in the Dumner stronghold of Andasreth on the upper level, the Velothi Tower of Arvs-Drelen in the town of Gnisis, and in Seryne Relas's House, part of the Telvanni stronghold of Tel Branora.
Given the contradictory nature of its contents, it does seem that The Dragon Break Reexamined was written in an alternative Elder Scrolls timeline or even in the future. It is ironic that a book denying the existence of Dragon Breaks could well have been affected by one. However, the book's appearance in Skyrim, Oblivion, and Morrowind seems to defy both logic and time, making this one of the more unusual books for lore fans to hunt down.
